"He rocked the trailer all the way home that night, so I knew he knew he got beat. He wasn't happy about it."

On today's episode of Trot Radio, Norm Borg talks to Rod Hughes about his stable star San Pail, whose win streak was snapped at five last Saturday by Lucky Jim in a prep race for the 2011 Maple Leaf Trot.

The most recent addition to Standardbred Canada's Faces of Racing campaign, San Pail aims for his third straight Maple Leaf Trot win on Saturday night in what shapes up to be his toughest test to date. The two-time O'Brien Award winner leaves from Post 9 in the $730,000 Maple Leaf Trot against nine rivals including the three fastest trotting geldings in harness racing history: Enough Talk, Lucky Jim and Arch Madness.

"[The nine hole] is a bit of a concern but he won in 51 and 4 out of the 10 hole and was out half the mile," said Hughes. "We'll just have to hope for a bit of a trip and know that it's not going to be the same racing style of the last two Maple Leaf Trots...I think this year could be the toughest."

Hughes and Trot Radio's Norm Borg also look ahead to the 2011 campaign which will likely involve a trip to the Meadowlands for the Nat Ray as well as some other U.S. stakes events. The full interview is available below.

Episode 211 – Trainer Rod Hughes

Audio Format: MP3 audio

Host: Norm Borg

Please note that the opinions expressed in the featured interview are those of the participants and do not necessarily reflect Rideau Carleton Raceway and/or Standardbred Canada.

Wear the Colour Purple and Support San Pail!

Purple symbolizes power, nobility and ambition. Purple is associated with royalty and wealth.

This Saturday night, the colour purple is associated with star trotter, San Pail, a national champion, millionaire trotter, and the newest addition to the I Love Canadian Harness Racing Fan Club Faces of Racing roster. San Pail will be wearing the purple saddlepad (post position 9) in his attempt to capture his third consecutive Maple Leaf Trot title at Mohawk Racetrack with regular driver Randy Waples at the helm.

If you’re planning on coming out to Mohawk on Saturday night, we invite you to show your support by wearing purple! And if you don’t own anything purple, you can stop by the I Love Canadian Harness Racing Fan Club booth and pick up your free San Pail button to wear that night.

San Pail won O’Brien Awards as Canada’s older trotting horse of the year in both 2009 and 2010, and will attempt to become just the second horse in history to win the Maple Leaf Trot in three consecutive years. Grandpa Jim captured the race for trainer Robert Farrington in 1969, 1970 and 1971.

Trained and co-owned by trainer Rod Hughes along with breeder Glenn Van Camp, San Pail has career earnings of $1,930,215. The seven-year-old son of San Pellegrino was runner up to Lucky Jim in last Saturday’s $50,000 prep event for the Maple Leaf Trot and has 7 wins and 2 seconds under his belt in 9 season starts.

Former Toronto Maple Leaf great Curtis Joseph will be on hand to present the winning connections the highly sought-after Maple Leaf Trot trophy. Fans will be able to meet and greet Joseph from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. with the first 500 fans to receive a free commemorative autograph card.